April 17, 2026

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Oliviyah Thornton improved her career best marks in a pair of throwing events Friday on the second day of the Red Raider Open, hosted by Northwestern (Iowa) at De Valois Stadium.  The Trojans only competed in two throwing events and did not compete in running events due to high wind.

Thornton captured the shot-put title for DSU, improving her school record of 14.68 meters (48 feet, 2 inches).  Her shot put is third best mark in the NAIA.  Bella Maxwell added a third-place finish after throwing 13.15 meters (43 feet, 1.75 inches).  Hadley Hollenbeck threw 11.13 meters (36 feet, 6.25 inches), while Emily Dvorak hit her personal record 10.35 meters (33 feet, 11.5 inches).

Thornton added a second-place finish in the discus, earning her personal record 46.06 meters (151 feet, 1 inch) for Dakota State.  Her discus mark is NAIA 'B' standard mark and ranks ninth in the NAIA.  In addition, her discus is the second-best mark in the DSU women's outdoor track & field school record book.

Lilly Young threw 37.71 meters (123 feet, 8 inches) to place seventh, followed by Maxwell with 36.36 meters (119 feet, 3 inches) for an eighth-place finish.  Hollenbeck threw 33.50 meters (109 feet, 11 inches) and Dvorak 24.39 meters (80 feet).

Dakota State prepares for a busy track & field meet next week with four different meets.  The Trojans will send their multi-events athletes for the Frontier Conference competition on Sunday and Monday at Biesiot Activities Center.

DSU will also compete in the Mount Marty (S.D.) Twilight meet on Wednesday in Yankton, S.D.  The selected members of the Trojan outdoor track & field team will compete in the prestigious Drake Relays, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.  In addition, Dakota State will compete in the Vikings Classic, hosted by Grand View (Iowa) next Friday.